| Premium men's apparel brand Indian Terrain will expand its retail footprint by opening at least 25 new stores by March 2008.
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| The Chennai-based Indian Terrain presently operates four exclusive merchandise stores in India, while five more are run as franchises.
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| The working capital of Rs 10 crore for the expansion is part of the Rs 80-crore corpus raised by the company through an IPO in January this year.
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| Manufacturing will be stepped up to match the growth in stores and facilities, said chief executive officer Charath Narasimhan, Indian Terrain.
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| The company opened a new facility this year, while the Chennai facilities which make khakis and cargo pants will up their capacity to 9 million pieces annually.
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| Indian Terrain had revenues of Rs 50 crore in fiscal 2006 and estimates a 50% growth in turnover in fiscal 2007. "We wil also line up more product categories across the men's range. We have also tied up with ATP to bring out a special sportswear line for the ATP Chennai Open, and will look at more such associations as our brand develops further."
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| Over the next three years, Indian Terrain will be bringing out a sportswear garments line in association with nodal tennis association ATP.
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| Indian Terrain will be the official clothing sponsor of the premier ATP Chennai Open tournament, and will design and market an exclusive line of apparel and accessories starting from the tenth edition of the tournament next year.
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| The ATP line of clothing and accessories will be initially available at the tournament venue and a few select outlets of the company, with possibilities of expanding it to more outlets at a later point, Narasimhan said.
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| While T-shirts retailed in the ATP line of clothing will cost between Rs 400 and Rs 600, accessories like bags would be priced at between Rs 200 and Rs 400, Narasimhan said.
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| While declining to disclose the total size of the ATP order or the brandspend from Indian Terrain to promote the new sportswear line, he clarified that the company was not entering the sports goods business, but would look at associations with sports bodies to bring out exclusive lines of garments in future.
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| "Much of the brandspend will be Chennai-centric and will involve, besides advertising, a host of activities like contests and quizzes. While we have narrowed down upon two colours for the garments line, the style element will be in place within a few days," Narasimhan said.
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| A Tirupur-based manufacturer will have a role in bringing out the ATP sportswear line, he said, without disclosing the name of the company. The company's Chennai factories will also be involved in the rollout.
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| He said that the ATP connection would help the men's apparel maker gain valuable mindshare among the young buyers with high disposable incomes. "We also see it as an opportunity to promote sports like tennis, which is part of our ongoing strategy of looking for associations, events and properties that fit the brand.
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| Indian Terrain holds 5% share of the premium men's apparel market which is growing at 20% annually, Narasimhan said.
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| With 10,000 employees, Indian Terrain has a primary manufacturing unit in Chennai, while its holding company, Celebrity Fashions, runs nine units which export garments to the US and EU markets.
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| The total men's apparel market in India is worth an estimated Rs 20,000 crore, with the unorganised market bringing up another Rs 30,000 crore in estimated sales.
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| Independent market studies say that about 10% to 20% of the disposable incomes of the younger population, a vital part of India's over 300 million strong middle class, goes into apparel and accessory products. |
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